Veggie Guinness Chili

What to do with the rest of the Guinness can tragically going flat in my fridge after last night's cake? What to do, what to do...

After a few minutes of trolling recipes for something stout-y, I quickly realized that any dish relying on this Irish-est of Irish beers would have to be equally Irish itself. Which left us with two main ingredients: beef and potatoes. Strikes one and two. Cabbage? Three, and out.

Luckily, there are some really weird people out there -- and I mean really weird -- that get eerily excited about consuming beer at every possible hour of the day, in whatever form, flavor, or freaky combination they can dream up. I chose conservatively from their creations, and ended up with a pretty robust bowl of a tomatoey soup-like concoction that David has been praising for days. Thought I might as well share, in case you wanted Guinness for dinner and dessert.

Our version was vegetarian, meaning we chopped up and simmered a random assortment of veggies from the fridge, but you could easily start it by browning some meat and building from there.

Vegetarian Guinness Chili

(serves 4, or 2 people for 2 days; total time about 45 minutes)

1 small onion, sliced thin

2 cloves garlic

*1 small potato (we used sweet), diced

*4-5 mushrooms, thick sliced

*1 cup cauliflower florets

1 Tbsp flour

1 cup Guinness

1 cup veggie broth

1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1 tsp salt

lots and lots and lots of black pepper

Toppings: cheese, sour cream, green onions

1. In a hefty pot, saute your vegetables in about 1 Tbsp of oil, until they start to color, about 8 minutes. Add flour and cook 1 minute. Stir in beer, tomatoes, broth, and vinegar. Bring to a boil. Turn down heat and simmer 20-30 minutes, until vegetables are tender and stew has thickened.
2. Add salt and lots of pepper; feel free to also use chili powder, Tobasco, or some other heating agent to spice things up. Top with cheese/sour cream/onions if desired.

* So, we used the vegetables we had on hand, including a cob of corn that I cut the kernels from and threw in at the last minute. Tasty. Don't feel bound by this list of veggers. Use whatever you can/have/want/like.